Dodgeball!
by MadiSano
Summary: Here's an equation for you. RK Cast, plus AU setting, plus Dodgeball, plus Boys VS Girls, equals: A whole lotta sweat, drama, action, dramatization, and just plain RK fun. Slight TY SM AM KK!


**Dodgeball!**

_(I don't own Rurouni Kenshin!)_

Smirking slightly, Kamiya Kaoru finished tying her gym shoes, one leg uplifted onto the bench in the girl's locker room so that she could reach easier. She tightened the lace with a sharp jerk, and placed her foot upon the floor again, standing up straight.

Kaoru was excited, what could she say? Gym class was not only her favorite, but on this particular day, the class got to play a particular game Kaoru relished like chocolate.

Megumi strode up from behind, adorned in her normal gym clothes. She looked tired—of _course_, Megumi looked tired. No doubt the education freak had stayed up the night before to some disgusting hour of the morning, studying for some such subject.

"You look sort of wasted," Kaoru teased, with a laugh.

Megumi yawned in reply, giving her best friend a glare as the rest of the girls finished dressing. "Thanks for noticing," Megumi mumbled, and pushed her delicate glasses a bit up the bridge of her nose.

Kaoru smiled, turning and wandering to the door. "Come on, class is going to start soon! You wanna be late?"

-

A sharp whistle echoed throughout the gym, making every student wince. The class was seated in a clustered group upon the floor, and had been previously chatting before the teacher blew his banshee of a whistle.

The gym teacher was humongous, to say the least. Hiko Seijuurou had to be at least seven feet tall, and had maybe a three feet shoulder span. To make matters worse (for his students), he was as mean and as irritable as a possum. And, he had _favorites_; which was awful for those who did poor or decently in gym.

"All right," Hiko-sensei growled, giving his students a rather beady glower. "I'm gonna take role, so shut up." The order was considered and followed in fear of the consequences as Hiko continued. "Amakusa Sayo."

"Here," shouted a brunette with bright green eyes.

"Himura Kenshin," called Hiko.

A scrawny, but undeniably adorable redhead waved on Hiko's left. "Here!"

Rolling his eyes—his spite for the little people was nearly sad—Hiko then called out, "Kamiya Kaoru?"

"I am here!" Kaoru raised her hand, grinning wide.

Hiko allowed himself to smile slightly. Kaoru was a great gyms student…scratch that, Kaoru was a _killer_ gym student. When holding a dodge ball, Kaoru could make a football quarterback wet himself just by looking at him. "Makimachi Misao."

"Here! HEY, I'M HERE!"

Hiko narrowed his eyes at the loudly chattering girl, who waved her hand in the air so quickly that she accidentally slapped Kaoru, who yelped in surprise. The matter was settled as an accident, and Misao went unpunished; but Hiko warned her that he would not hesitate to keep her on the sidelines if she didn't keep her big trap under control. Which, was exactly was he said.

"You'd better keep your big trap under control, Makimachi," Hiko scolded, "or I'll make you sit on the sidelines for the rest of the week." Ignoring Misao's sheepish explanations, Hiko continued to take role. "Myoujin Yahiko."

"Here!" Yahiko raised his hand, looking a little irritated. He had reason to be like so; a tall, spiky-haired boy was constantly jabbing him in the neck, making him twitch like a rabid dog. "Shoot, cut it out, Sanosuke!"

"Sagara Sanosuke," called Hiko.

"READY TO KICK BUTT, SIR!" Sanosuke, the tall boy, perked up immediately. His loud voice echoed throughout the gym as though the kid had swallowed a microphone; and everyone looked at him.

Hiko blinked. Sanosuke was darn lucky he was a good gym student (he failed every other class, soo….), otherwise Hiko would have hated his guts. And his personality. And his hair. Definitely the hair. And everything else about him; because that kid was so damn annoying that he could teach a parrot to recite the entire Declaration of Independence in a half hour; the kid spent so much time yammering.

"Yes, I'm here! Yeah! Way to go me, yeah! I didn't skip this time! Whaddya think of that, Mr. Hiko? I actually made it this time without that damn truancy officer dragging me here like I'm some lost mutt—"

"Shut up," ordered Hiko. Sanosuke did not—instead, he continued, only quieter so Hiko could scarcely hear him. Hiko sighed, and continued. He paused, staring at the name upon the paper in slight dismay. "Sa…Sage…waki…what's-his-name Chou."

"…Yeah, I'm here," Chou snorted from one corner of the group, looking irritable that Hiko once again mangled his last name.

Of course, Hiko paid no attention and continued. He called the names of others as well, of the remaining class; Megumi, Tsubame, Aoshi, Saitou, Tae, Enishi, and Tomoe. When role had been finished, Hiko held up a large green bag, with many lumps in it that signified it held something.

"We're gonna play dodgeball today," announced Hiko, and with a poisonous glower he silenced the cheers of his class, the loudest among them coming from Sanosuke and Kaoru. "Ahem…anyways, here are the rules. There'll be six balls to each side, and when I blow the whistle, the game begins or ends. You're not allowed to cross the white line dividing the gym, otherwise you're out. You're also out if the person you aimed at catches the ball." Hiko paused, trying to think of anything that he missed. "Oh, and make sure to cream the people who're trying to run the hardest, though I'll have to give you a detention if you give them a concussion or if you kill them."

A whine from Sanosuke's direction was heard. "Hey! You looked at _me_ when you said that! What's up with _that_? I'm not gonna kill anybody! Gosh ya think you'd be a lil' more thoughtful, Hiko-sensei…makin' me feel like a delinquent and all…"

"Sagara, you ARE a delinquent," Hiko growled, to the boy's outrage. "So shut up." Re-ignoring Sanosuke's pitiable whines, Hiko turned to the class again and continued his explanation. "Anyways, it'll be boys verses girls. Girls to my left, guys to my right. Scatter."

The girls burst into joyful peals of rather malicious laughter, scrambling to their feet and shooting off to their right. The boys scuffled and snickered as they retreated to their end of the gym, the loudest of them (guess who) busying himself by causing as much chaos as he found possible by hanging himself from the basketball hoop and landing on the unfortunate one who happened to walk under him. That unfortunate one happened to be poor Himura; who nearly had a spinal injury from Sanosuke's sudden plunge.

Hiko tossed out six balls to each team, various players catching them with ease. Kenshin attempted to catch one, but was tripped by Enishi and prevented from doing so. The scrawny boy blinked in confusion and managed to catch himself before he fell, and regained his balance.

The whistle blew. And all Hell broke loose.

"HERE YA GO, HIMURA!" Kaoru shouted, chucking her dodgeball in her right hand with brute and very un-ladylike force at the lightweight. Kenshin's eyes grew huge as the menacing red orb flew towards his face, a low gagging noise emitting from his throat seconds before he passed out. The ball thundered against the wall just behind the sprawled-out Himura, and bounced backwards, hit Kenshin, and rolled right back to Kaoru.

"Hiko-sensei, Himura-kun's unconscious!" Kaoru shouted.

Hiko shrugged. "So?"

Rolling her eyes, Kaoru dodged an incoming missile from Aoshi, and ducked low as another ball sailed in via Yahiko. Kaoru grabbed a nearby ball, and threw it with the same vicious force at an unsuspecting Chou. The poor blonde was knocked senseless from Kaoru's assault, but the Girl's Team took toll as well as Tae was hit by a resounding missile from Saitou himself. The wolfish boy dodged every one of the assaults aimed at him with almost greasy grace, slickly avoiding each ball with ease. He picked up yet another dodgeball, and pitched it at Kaoru.

Kaoru fell to the floor as she dodged, unable to prevent the tumble. She rolled over strategically as a dodgeball pounded into her previous spot, thanks to Sanosuke. The boy's long limbs and quick movements made him an excellent player; the only drawbacks were his ego and his clumsiness.

Standing, Kaoru dodged another assault, only for it to strike Tsubame, who was standing some ways behind Kaoru. It was Yahiko who threw the ball, and he froze like a statue when he realized who he hit, an evident, regretful blush spreading across his—

_THOCK_. Yahiko was out. Misao had pegged him right in the gut while he was busy blushing over Tsubame, and she now took another ball and threw it at Sanosuke, who caught it easily. Misao gaped in rage; she was out! And she stormed off.

Megumi grit her teeth as she clutched the dodge ball in both hands; she had never been good at this game. She could dodge like a rabbit, but when it came to throwing… it was like trying to get Kenshin to smack a woman. It wouldn't happen. Kaoru had said before that if Megumi really tried, she could probably chuck one pretty good.

And then she saw—_him_. HIM. Megumi scowled; that stupid Sanosuke was grinning at her, the weirdo. "Hey, Foxy!" he called, and Megumi's glower deepened. "Are you gonna hit me with that? Huh? Well? Aren't you gonna hit me? Hit me! C'mon! I'm wide open, hit me! What's the matter? Can't you hit me?"

Megumi felt the rage boil in her blood as Sanosuke taunted her; he knew very well that Megumi's talents were for studies and not sports. "You shut up," she growled.

"Well? Come and GET ME!" Sanosuke waved his empty hands, enjoying the entire prospect quite a lot. He knew Megumi couldn't throw worth crap, and even if she tried he could dodge quite—"OH MY GOD!"

And he crumpled to the floor, gasping, in a fetal position with his hands between his thighs as he hissed in agony. "Damndamndamndamndamndamndamn…"

Megumi took in a deep breath, clenching her hands at her sides as a sudden sort of pride came over her. She had pegged someone! Sanosuke, of all people! That twerp who called her names, stalked her, teased her, and flipped her skirt! She had! She…

…was out. Aoshi had taken opportunity of Megumi's prideful trance and struck her on the shoulder, quickly reviving Megumi from her state. She scowled, and stormed off the court; Sanosuke miserably dragging himself after her, whimpering.

"COME ON, KAORU!" Misao screamed from the sidelines, beating her fists on the floor where she sat. "COME ON! GET 'EM!"

Kaoru advanced, ball in hand as she slid out of the way from a missile from Enishi, ducking and leaping to chuck the red orb in her right hand. It screamed through the air, a blur of scarlet as it collided with Kaoru's foe.

They watched as Aoshi unexpectedly met his demise; the icy boy stumbled in initial shock, before pausing and dropping the ball he held, and quietly leaving the court.

Misao roared from the margins, "WHAT! A-AOSHI-SAMA! KAORU, WHAT ARE YOU DOING? NOT AOSHI-SAMAAAAAAAAAA!" Leaping up, Misao charged over to Aoshi, and tackled him in embrace. "Aoshi-sama…are you okay…?"

"Augh, you two make me wanna puke," Sanosuke grumbled, still shivering from his rather personal injury. Misao replied to that by kicking backwards to land her foot in the boy's face, sending him cussing anew.

"HEY!" yelled Chou, looking shocked. "Sayo and Tomoe are out!"

Indeed, the two girls were limping back to the crowd of onlookers; Sayo looking disappointed while Tomoe looked serenely displeased. Confused chatter emitted from the crowd; how could two people be out at once?

Sanosuke didn't seem to care all that much. "Hey, Sayooo!" he called. "You wanna sit next to _me_?"

The patient girl looked at the grinning Sanosuke, smiled warmly, but shook her head no. "Why?" Sanosuke pestered. "You know you—OUCH!"

Sanosuke rubbed his fingers through his spiky hair sorely, for Megumi had viciously pounded him atop the head. She folded her arms, looking at Sayo with an apologetic but ominous expression.

"I don't think Megumi-san would like that so much," Sayo said nervously, and walked off.

"WHAT THE HECK WAS THAT ALL ABOUT!" Sanosuke pouted, glowering at Megumi, who glared right back.

"You are such a player!" Megumi yelled back, hitting him again. "Putting moves on a girl like that in the middle of gym! Pervert!"

"HEY!" yelled Hiko. "Stop flirting, you two! I'm getting a headache!"

It turned out the Saitou was the cause of both Tomoe and Sayo's loss. He had, with utter and shocking speed and force, slammed Tomoe with a dodgeball, of which ricocheted and hit the wall, therefore bouncing back and striking Sayo from behind.

The wolfish kid now stood, silent, without a trace of pride or mockery on his completely bored features. Causing a few kids agony and getting a good grade; that's what mattered in his case.

Kaoru was now alone on the field, facing off with Saitou and Enishi. She paced back and forth with a ball in each hand, nervously and as intense as a warrior on the brink of battle. Saitou stared back, limply holding a dodge ball as he calculated Kaoru's posture, actions, and eye movement as she moved from side to side.

Enishi became impatient; he wanted Kaoru to peg that prick who had insolently creamed his sister, already; so he could catch her amid her throw to get Kaoru out. It was all a scheme of mind; Kaoru just had to play nice and go along with it.

"Hmph," Kaoru growled. It was obvious neither of the boys were going to move, so it was up to her to make the action. But who to strike? Her blue eyes wavered back and forth, unsure and anxious.

"Come on, Kaoru!" cheered Megumi.

Misao, still clinging to an emotionless Aoshi, screamed, "GO, KAORU, GO!"

Exasperated that none of the boys were doing anything to cheer the remainder of their team on, Sanosuke howled, "MOVE YOUR BUTT, YUKISHIRO! YOU GONNA LET THAT SQUINTY-EYED FREAK TAKE ALL THE GLORY?"

"Shut up, Sagara!" barked Hiko. "Or I'll give you a detention for being obnoxious and for insulting the best male player."

Miffed, Sanosuke resumed to pouting softly. "I thought _I_ was the best male player… meh… after all I've done for that guy…"

Suddenly, Kaoru lunged. With a twist of muscle she sprinted forwards, using the momentum to hurl the red sphere in her grip with all due aim and power right at Enishi's face. The boy gasped, attempting to dodge by turning aside; but Kaoru had thrown a curved ball and the white-haired kid ended up getting slammed in the side of the head.

Saitou took action as soon as the ball left Kaoru's fingers. Charging, he released the globe in his hand with frightening strength, letting it fly. Kaoru turned her eyes just in time to see it coming, and with as gasp she brought up the ball in her opposite grip to block the oncoming projectile.

The two spheres collided with a thunderous smack, and thus Saitou's attack was fruitless. But the boy was already lunging again, having crouched down to the floor to retrieve another weapon. He threw it, and Kaoru managed to half trip, half dodge her way into an evasion.

She threw her remaining dodgeball with all vicious might, but Saitou easily dodged it; twisting about to throw yet another ball he had mysteriously acquired. Kaoru gasped, feeling her back hit the wall. She cowered, turning into a defensive position, only to find that the ball smacked into the wall just beside her face.

Ducking low to the ground, Kaoru charged and dodged about in an unpredictable pattern, picking up numerous red orbs as she moved. Digging her fingernails into the leathery shell of the ball, she felt the muscles in her arms and calves strain as she dodged one last shot from her enemy. Bones ground in her ears as her arm came around, and with a cry she chucked the ruby sphere with all her might.

The object flew with a small whoosh, in slow motion in Kaoru's eyes as it whizzed away in a perfect arc, smashing itself perfectly in Saitou's stomach; for the boy had made the mistake of throwing all of the accessible dodgeballs on his side of the field onto Kaoru's; leaving him weaponless.

Enthusiastic cheers exploded from the girl's team; they had won!

"YEAH!" yelled Misao, leaving Aoshi to seize Kaoru in a rib-crushing hug. "WE WON! WE WON, KAORU!"

Megumi smiled in delight, patting the pouting Rooster's head. He glared up at her, and then folded his arms, mumbling, "…I forgive you for slamming me in the fork."

Suddenly, a deadly scowl overtook Megumi's lovely features, and she turned angrily on the confused boy beside her. "YOU forgive ME? You were the one taunting me and making fun of me from the other team! You're the one who always calls me names like 'Foxy' and 'Megitsune'! You're the one who follows me around everywhere and lifts my skirt when I'm least expecting it! You're one who's always being such a JERK!"

Sighing nonchalantly, Sanosuke put his arm around the fuming Fox, explaining, "It's all a part of being handsome, Meg… all a part of bein' handsome."

"SANOSUKE AND MEGUMI ARE SHOWING PDA IN SCHOOL!" Misao yelled, arousing numerous cat calls.

"DAMMIT MISAO! YOU'RE THE ONE WHO'S ALWAYS SLOBBERING OVER SHINOMORI!" Sanosuke shouted back, shaking an angry fist.

A dark, ominous shadow overcast the Rooster and the Fox, causing them both to look up curiously at the tall, disdainful boy. "Are you threatening Misao-chan, Sagara?"

Sanosuke immediately put down the clenched set of fingers he had been waving at the snickering weasel. "No way, Shinomori! I was just expressin' my… ultimate victory at winning myself a pretty girl like Megumi."

_WHACK_. "Who said you've won _anything_, Sanosuke!" Megumi growled, storming off and leaving a battered Sano in her dust.

He rubbed his new injury upon his cheek, blushing. "Just being hit by her turns me on…"

Kaoru sighed, rolling her eyes at her friend's antics. Turning about, she walked over to check on Kenshin, who was still dizzy from his fall. "Hey," she demanded. "Are you okay?"

"Yes….I'm fine, that I am…" mumbled the sheepish redhead.

Kaoru held out a hand to help him up, grimacing at the surprised expression on his face. "Well? Come on. I'm not going to stand around all day just so you can stare at my hand, Carrot-Top."

"Ah—oh, I'm sorry," he fretted, accepting the offered hand and standing up. Fidgeting and blushing, Kenshin whispered, "I think my team's going to be angry with me because I let them down…"

"Well, why don't you toughen up?" asked Kaoru, putting her hands upon her hips. "Don't you work out?"

Kenshin shook his head, shamefaced.

"Well then, come over my place Friday, and I'll teach you some exercises and techniques that'll help you out in gym," Kaoru said, smiling smugly. "Okay?"

Looking utterly shocked, Kenshin stammered and nodded, "O-okay!"

"But, you know," warned Kaoru, as they turned to rejoin their gym class, "no matter what you do, I'll always cream you when it comes to dodgeball."

Kenshin didn't doubt her.

**THE END.**

_MadiSano:_ Well. I've been meaning to post this for quite some time--heh--but I've somehow have always been interrupted... I was bored, needless to say. ;) Everyone was meant to be a little over-dramatic and their personalities were supposed to be hugely intensified, and so I didn't give much thought to whether or not they were being OOC. As we know them from the anime/manga, there are at completely different ages, and now they're in completely different settings; so it's understandable--I would think--for the cast to be a bit different. ;) Hope you liked it! Please review, and I will LOVE YOU FOREVER! Oo ...maybe. XD


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